


After the fall

by Manwameldiel



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Happy Ending, Internal Conflict, Light Angst, M/M, Slow Burn, mentions of injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 22:20:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14482422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Manwameldiel/pseuds/Manwameldiel
Summary: Post season 3. Possibly pre season 4. Takes place right after the fall. Will and Hannibal are on the run and live together. Will is unsure about how he feels for Hannibal.





	After the fall

**Author's Note:**

> So, I haven't posted anything in about a year and just found this on my laptop, I wrote this a few months ago, but never uploaded it. I hope you enjoy.

Pain. The first thing Will felt when he hit the water. Stinging pain in his open wounds. Then regret. As he felt Hannibal slip away from his arms. No. He reached out. He could not lose Hannibal again. But, his strength was mostly gone. He couldn’t reach towards Hannibal, he couldn’t hold him. He could simply lie there, limp in the water as the tide moved him around. He already regretted his decision about pulling the two of them off the cliff. 

He tasted his own blood as he felt it swirl out of his wounds. He opened his eyes, the salt stinging. He could only see the water in front of him, and the moonlight shining through the stream. He wasn’t ready to give up, but there was so little left of his strength. He couldn’t pull himself up towards the surface. His lungs were empty, and his eyelids started drooping when a figure appeared in front of him, wrapped their arms around Will and pulled him up so Will could breathe again. 

He coughed up water which had started to fill his lungs and opened his eyes to see Hannibal holding him. Hannibal looked slightly better than how Will felt. Although, he looked very out of breath and in pain, he was alive and so was Will. Hannibal tenderly caressed Will’s good cheek as if to make sure he really was there. The corners of his lips moved upwards as he sighed and rested their foreheads together. Will watched Hannibal as the man closed his eyes, both of them relishing the feeling of being there in each other’s arms.  
With all the strength he had left, Will raised his hands and awkwardly positioned them under Hannibal’s jaw, pushing under his chin so Hannibal was looking him in the eye. Then he brought their faces closer together and closed his eyes. He could feel Hannibal’s breath on his lips when a light suddenly shone on the two of them. He looked towards the light and saw a boat. Will only saw the silhouette of the person on the boat before he blacked out. 

 

Will woke up in a strange bed. It took him a while to remember what had happened and how he had ended up there. Once he remembered, he checked the cheek Dolarhyde had stabbed. Stitches held the cheek together. Will looked around the room he was in. It was empty, except for the bed he was in and a chair beside it. On the chair lay a small pile of clothes. They were not the ones he had been wearing last time he was conscious. Those had probably been thrown away, they had been in terrible condition anyway. Will looked to his side and saw that he was the only person in the bed. ‘Obviously’ Will thought to himself. Of course had Hannibal not been put in the same bed as Will. He couldn’t deny the fact that he felt a little disappointed, though. He sat up with minor difficulty and his feet touched the cold wooden floor. He noticed a small nightstand by the side of the bed that he had not seen before. On it sat a bowl of soup and a glass of water. He picked up the glass and took a sip. It hurt, but he was incredibly thirsty, so he finished the glass. Then he picked up the bowl, it was cold as well. He didn’t mind, eating it hurt less than it would have if the soup had been hot. 

After he finished the soup he stood up and walked towards the other side of the room and looked out the window. He saw trees and possibly a lake there behind the forest. He couldn’t really make it out because of the fog. He walked to the chair and changed into the clothes which had been put there. The pajamas he had been wearing, he put on the bed. 

The house seemed small, after exiting the bedroom he was shortly met by a kitchen which was connected to the living room. To his right was another room and the door was open. Inside was Hannibal lying on a bed. Will stood in the doorway as he looked at the other man sleep, he looked peaceful. A book lay open on his chest and it moved with every breath. Will decided to let him sleep as he went outside. 

Will took a deep breath as he tried to figure out where in the world exactly they were. But, judging by the trees, to Will’s knowledge, they could be pretty much anywhere. He also wondered about the time and how long they had been there. The faint sunlight told him it was most likely early morning, or late afternoon. A shiver went up his back as a wind blew by and he headed back inside. 

As he was looking around the living room, he thought he heard a voice. he waited and heard Hannibal again say his name, softly like a whisper. He headed towards Hannibal’s room and found him in the same position as before. Except his book was now on the nightstand and his eyes were open, looking out the window. “Hannibal” Will stepped inside the room, and the other man looked over at him. “Hello, Will” Hannibal said, then looked slowly downwards, and then his gaze traveled back towards the window. Will stood there awkwardly. He wanted to say something, but there was nothing he could say. He had almost killed both of them. That had been his intention, anyway. Or maybe it hadn’t, those details were somewhat vague to him, still. “Who brought us here?” he asked. “Chiyoh” Hannibal stated. Will nodded. Of course, he should have guessed. “How long have we been here?” “Only a few days” Will nodded again. He suddenly felt nervous, talking to Hannibal after what happened.

“Do you forgive me?” he asked, and Hannibal looked back at him, confused. “What’s there to forgive?” “What I did at the cliff. The reason we are here” Will explained. “We would be here no matter what had happened at the cliff. Before, I had contacted Chiyoh. Everything went by plan, almost”. Hannibal whispered the last word as his hand, absentmindedly, went to his abdomen. “How are you there?” Will asked as he walked closer towards the bed. “Much better. It will definitely take some more time to fully heal but it should stop hurting pretty soon” “That’s good” Will said for lack of anything better to say. “It is” Hannibal agreed and looked up at Will. 

“May I lie down beside you?” Will asked, surprising both himself and Hannibal. Hannibal pushed himself from the middle to the side of the bed. “Of course,” he said before Will climbed in. He immediately lay his head down on Hannibal’s collar bone and his arm over the man’s torso. Hannibal moved his arm that was positioned underneath Will and Will moved away, thinking Hannibal was pushing him away. But, Hannibal simply put his arm around Will’s shoulders and pulled him back. Will traced his fingers across Hannibal’s chest and, soon afterwards, Hannibal started stroking through Will’s hair. 

After a while of lying there in silence, Will asked Hannibal the question which had been haunting him for a while. “Hannibal?” “Yes, Will?” “Are you in love with me?” Hannibal’s hand stopped, and Will could feel, through his fingertips, the other man’s heartbeat raising through the fabric of his shirt. Silence. Will didn’t know why he asked that question. He knew. He had known for a long time. Back when he had used it to manipulate Hannibal, he knew. He had always known but not fully realized he had known until Bedelia said it. Why had it taken her words to convince him? Will wasn’t sure why he was all of a sudden so interested in hearing the answer come from Hannibal, but he was. He waited, the silence pulling at all his edges, tearing him apart. Then, Hannibal took a deep breath before replying “Yes”. 

The two of them lay together as Will’s mind wandered. What was he doing? He was somewhere unknown, in a cabin, lying in bed beside Hannibal. Hannibal. The man he should despise for doing everything he had done, to Will, to the world. He should have killed the man when he was sleeping and run away, not wait for him to wake up and crawl in bed with him. However, Will realized, he didn’t want to be anywhere else, with anyone else. He didn’t want to be safe with Molly in their cozy home, he didn’t want to be back in Woolftrap, he wanted to be wherever Hannibal was. ‘Are you in love with me?’ ‘Yes’ this one little word had made sure Will had done the right decision. Going with Hannibal. 

However, Will wondered: Did he reciprocate these feelings? Did he love Hannibal the way the other man loved him? For a while he had thought Hannibal to be completely incapable of any feeling, especially love. He hadn’t thought much about his feelings for Hannibal, because he had no idea Hannibal had any feelings for him.

Will lifted himself up on his elbow and looked down at Hannibal who looked back at him. On instinct, Will felt himself looking away, avoiding Hannibal’s gaze. Then realized, it wasn’t really the gaze he was avoiding. His eyes moved back and for once he let himself feel. All the repressed feelings he let go. He felt it swirl around his body, filling it with light. He smiled, it hurt his cheek, but he did it anyway, and Hannibal smiled back. 

 

During the next two weeks Hannibal and Will stayed in the cabin as they were healing. Occasionally, Chiyoh would come by with food and supplies to check on them. Hannibal’s wound was still healing. Will told him to stay in bed as he knew Hannibal was still in pain, but the other man insisted he was fine. But, he wasn’t fine. Will had seen him a few times when Hannibal thought he wasn’t looking. He had seen how Hannibal sometimes doubled over, clutching his side. How he winced. And how he stopped whatever he was doing and took a deep breath when the pain got too much. But, Hannibal kept insisting he was fine. He was even back to cooking. 

“We should leave this place soon” Hannibal said one evening as they were preparing dinner. “It isn’t safe enough and it’s only a matter of time before Jack and the FBI will find us here” Will nodded as he cut the mushrooms “Yeah, it’s a good idea” he agreed as he finished up and put the mushrooms on the pan. As Hannibal mixed all the ingredients together, Will looked at him. 

For the past two weeks, they had slept in the same bed together. The one in the room originally meant for Will hadn’t been touched since Will first stood up from it. They had also taken up on holding hands at the most random moments and sitting way too closer on the couch than necessary. But, Will just realized, it all had been initiated by himself. Hannibal was never the first one to take Will’s hand or lie down beside him. Will thought back to the first time he laid beside the other man. When he had asked the question. 

“Is there something bothering you, Will?” Hannibal asked without looking up from the pan and Will realized he had been staring at him. “Are you in love with me?” he asked again. Hannibal moved the pan from the stove and turned off the heat. “Yes” he said, like it was the simplest thing in the universe. 

They ate in silence as Will kept thinking about this. Hannibal was in love with him. For some reason, Will found it hard to believe. He knew it was true, but hard to believe. “When did you know you’re in love with me?” Will asked surprising Hannibal who was about to take his last bite. “When I saw you walk in through the door to my office after I thought Tobias had killed you” Hannibal replied. “Was that why you killed him so brutally?” Will kept asking. “Yes” Hannibal took a sip of his wine. “I wanted him to suffer for what he did to you” “For what you thought he did” “He still deserved no less” Hannibal stood up and walked to the sink. Will finished his last bite as he heard a loud crash coming from Hannibal’s direction. He looked up and saw Hannibal stand, with a pained expression, holding his side. Will quickly stood up and walked over to him. He moved Hannibal’s hand away from his side to see if there was any blood visible. There was none, thank god. Will looked back up and saw one tear hanging onto the inner side of the other man’s eye. “Hannibal” Will whispered into the other man’s ear. He opened his eyes and locked gazes with Will. “Let me take care of this. Go sit or lie down. I’ll come join you afterwards.” Hannibal nodded and walked over to the couch and sat down. 

As Will took care of the dishes he felt Hannibal’s eyes piercing the back of his neck. “Why the sudden interest in knowing?” Hannibal asked as Will was finishing up. “No particular reason” He responded. Hannibal turned his head lightly towards one side, he didn’t quite believe Will’s lie. But, he asked no further, much to Will’s delight. Will wasn’t sure why he wanted to know so much, why he wanted to be reassured. He knew he felt something for Hannibal, he had yet to figure out what it was.

 

A month later they were no longer at the cabin. They had moved over to a bigger house. Will had wondered whether this house would be easier to find than the cabin, but according to Hannibal, it was better hidden, therefore safer. 

Will’s question hadn’t been brought up since a month ago, and Hannibal hadn’t asked Will anything similar. Sometimes Will wanted him to. He wanted to talk about this. Hannibal was in love with him. How hadn’t he known? It began to seem more and more obvious that he did. But, did Will love him back? For some reason not being sure bothered Will to a nauseating extend. He knew he felt something for Hannibal, something he had never felt before, but was it love? Or a whole another feeling entirely? 

On days when Will woke up to an empty bed and no one else was in the house, he got anxious. Even though Hannibal had told Will this place was safe, Will couldn’t help but not trust it entirely. So, when Hannibal went on walks and was away a little longer than Will would’ve liked, the negative thoughts started swirling around. What if Jack had found them? Or someone else? What if Hannibal was in danger? Hannibal was a strong and powerful man but that didn’t stop Will from worrying. 

One day, Hannibal came back from a rather long walk. “Why do you never let me know when you go out?” Will asked, sitting on the couch, as Hannibal entered the living room. “I’m sorry, Will. I shall remember to let you know next time”. Hannibal walked past him and headed out of the living room when Will spoke. “Hannibal?” that other man returned. “Will you sit beside me?” Hannibal walked over and did. Will looked at the man’s hand, resting on his knee. Will lightly let his thumb graze across the knuckles. He sighed and looked back up out the window. “Will you hold me?” he asked without looking at Hannibal. Hannibal did just that. Wrapped his arm around Will as Will lay his head on Hannibal’s shoulder. “Are you in love with me?” Will asked for the third time. “Yes, I am” Hannibal whispered, running his fingers through Will’s hair. 

The world was silent for a while, until Hannibal broke it like a delicate teacup. “What is it you feel, Will? Right now, in this moment.” Will wondered what the best way could be to describe it. “I feel content. Like this is where I’m supposed to be, always”. Will could feel Hannibal smile and he smiled as well. It was quite a simple thought, really. But, it had taken years for Will to realize it. He raised his head and looked Hannibal in the eye. His gaze then traveled downwards, towards the other man’s lips. He had the sudden urge to kiss Hannibal. He sat better up and, once again, laid his hand underneath Hannibal’s chin. Their foreheads were touching, Will felt the man’s breath, slow and steady. But, he hesitated. Even though Will craved the touch, he feared it. Feared what it could do to him. “Will” Hannibal whispered, sensing his emotions “We don’t need to do this”. Will felt like a fool in that moment. Why did he do this? Why was he sitting up, about to kiss Hannibal? He wanted to, but why? Before moving away, he let their lips touch. The light taste left him hungry for more, so much more. But, he just lay his head back on Hannibal’s shoulder, his arm across the man’s torso. Will’s heartbeat was raising, like he had been running a marathon. “I’m scared” he whispered, not sure if it was more aimed at Hannibal or himself. “I know, Will” Hannibal went back to stroking Will’s hair. 

 

About a week later, after eating dinner, Will had agreed to be a model for Hannibal to draw. It felt oddly intimate, Will thought. It was mostly dark except for the light from the fireplace and the only sounds were the crackling of the fire and of the sound of the charcoal touching the paper. Will sat on the couch, looking out the window, and Hannibal on a chair in front of him, with a box underneath the current drawing, in place of a table. The hairs on the back of Will’s neck stood up whenever Hannibal looked up from the paper and over his body. Will felt both uncomfortable and worshipped. It was exciting.

He looked over at Hannibal when he noticed how the sound of charcoal had stopped for a while. Hannibal was looking away from the drawing. The sight reminded Will of a prey listening for a sound of a predator. “Is everything okay?” he asked. Hannibal looked at him silently for a while. “Would it be alright if you were sitting shirtless?” Will hoped the lack of light in the room did enough to hide the fact that all the blood in his body seemed to be heading towards his face. Without answering, he unbuttoned his shirt and laid it down on the couch in front of him. He then sat back the same way as before. His back resting against the armrest and one arm draped over the back of the couch. 

As Hannibal went back to drawing, Will examined him. The way his shoulders lay low, how he sat hunched over his drawing. The way his eyes moved across the paper like the drawing was the most interesting thing in the world, maybe it was. 

When Hannibal looked back up again, Will held his gaze. He could feel his heartbeat in his ears as they looked at each other. Hannibal, then, motioned for Will to look out the window again. He did and closed his eyes as he inhaled deeply. When he opened them again, Hannibal was holding up the drawing, looking over the finished product. “May I see it?” Will asked as he repositioned himself on the couch and put the shirt back on. Hannibal laid the drawing back on top of the box and handed it over to Will. 

Will let the box rest in his lap as he held up the drawing. It was heavenly, literally. Will was positioned half sitting on a rock, with his legs in the sea, looking up at the cloudy sky. From the sky came a light from between the clouds and shone on him like a spotlight in a theatre. Will was bare chested with massive wings. The scar across his stomach was open and out of it flowed bright liquid into the sea. Even though the drawing was all grey, except Will’s hair and wings, which were black and white, Will could see how the liquid was supposed to be golden. There also seemed to be some sort of light aura around him. 

“What do you think of it?” Hannibal asked after a moment. “It’s beautiful” Will whispered. His fingers hovered over the drawing, along the lines. He wanted to touch but didn’t want to ruin the artwork. Hannibal stood up and walked behind the couch, looking at the drawing over Will’s head. “It’s meant to represent your becoming. I hope that got across to you” Hannibal explained as he put his hands on Will’s shoulders, the weight of them felt comforting. “If it’s supposed to represent my becoming it would feel more fitting to have you there in the picture as well”. Hannibal snickered “Perhaps it would be more fitting” he agreed. 

Will realized he had leaned towards Hannibal when he felt the man move his fingers down Will’s shoulders and touching the bare skin, exposed caused by lack of shirt that hadn’t been buttoned up. Hannibal began tracing circles that turned into lines across Will’s skin. It felt like he was writing something, but Will couldn’t pinpoint what. The soft touch sent a shiver up Will’s spine. He laid his head back and looked up at Hannibal who smiled down at him and began caressing his cheek. Will smiled back as he took Hannibal’s hand in his and raised it to his lips. He softly kissed Hannibal’s fingers, one at a time. Will kept staring at Hannibal as he felt the man relax under his touch. When Hannibal closed his eyes and sighed, Will moved his lips over to Hannibal’s palm and left a few kisses there. He started kissing every inch of Hannibal’s hand, moving both his hands to hold the other man’s arm when the box in his lap, fell on the floor and opening. Revealing a cluster of other drawings.

“I’m so sorry” Will started gathering the drawings together when Hannibal, who was now in front of him, pushed him back against the couch with immense force, right where Dolarhyde had stabbed him by the collar bone and began to pick up the drawings himself. Will winced, and Hannibal quickly looked up and then slowly away. “Will, I’m sorry” he said and looked back up, all the drawings in his hand. He stood up and put them in the box and then he sat back into the chair he had been sitting in earlier. Will noticed how upset Hannibal looked. Then he looked over at the box. Was there something in there he wasn’t supposed to see? 

“Hannibal?” Will asked, and the older man looked at him “I didn’t see what was on the drawings”. Hannibal nodded, staring at the box. “You should look at them” Hannibal thought out loud, after a short while, surprising Will. “Oh?” “If you want to, of course” Hannibal slid the box over to Will, who was very curious and yet hesitant to see what was inside. “Are you sure?” he asked, and Hannibal nodded. Carefully, Will picked up the box and opened it. 

The drawing on top was drawn from, Will noticed, the porch outside of the living room. The sun was positioned low in the sky and from the view, Will could tell Hannibal had drawn it at sundown. Will actually remembered when Hannibal had drawn this. The next drawing was also of a landscape. Although, Will couldn’t pinpoint where. There were mountains he didn’t recognize and a city far in the background. Will laid both of these drawings on the couch beside him and looked over at the next one which was of himself sleeping. His head lay on the side and his arm beside it with the palm facing up. The one underneath it was also of Will. In that one he was sitting by the window looking out. 

As Will went through the drawings he saw how many were of him, in different settings. He looked over at Hannibal who was staring into the flames in the fireplace. “They are beautiful” Will told him as he laid all the drawings back into the box. Hannibal looked down and nodded, like it was not the reaction he had expected. Then he looked over at Will “Thank you” he said and stood up and put the box back on the bookshelf, his hand lingering on the shelf for a little while. “Is there something wrong?” Will worried. “No” Hannibal said and turned around “Everything is fine”. “Are you sure?” Will stood up and walked over to him. “Yes, I just got startled when the box hit the ground. It threw me off a little”. Will knew that wasn’t the case. “You didn’t want me to see the drawings, why?” he questioned. Hannibal looked away for a second, as if to ponder how to answer. “I wasn’t sure how you would take it” he said after a while. Will only nodded, he wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He understood and didn’t question any further. 

The pair stood there in silence as the fire kept crackling. Will felt himself taking one step forward, looking into Hannibal’s eyes. He wasn’t sure why he did that, what he wanted to do. His eyes strayed down to Hannibal’s lips and up again. He licked his lips and leaned forward. He stopped as his lips hovered over Hannibal’s. He wanted to close the gap, but again, he hesitated. “Will?” Hannibal whispered. Will stepped away “I’m sorry” he said. “I can’t do this. I don’t… I don’t know why I did that” he admitted. Hannibal nodded in understanding. “Maybe you don’t. Or maybe you do but you’re not ready to admit what you want to yourself yet”. 

Will looked up at Hannibal who looked back at him with cold eyes, and realized he was right. It had never been about not knowing what he wanted, but about not admitting it to himself. The realization hit Will like a brick and he stood there staring at Hannibal, who calmly looked back at him. Will stepped one step closer again and laid his hand on Hannibal’s cheek. The older man closed his eyes and sighed. Will moved his fingers towards Hannibal’s hair, noticing how it had grown over the past weeks. It wasn’t long, but there was definitely a change. He let his hand fall down to his side and once Hannibal opened his eyes again Will asked. “Are you in love with me?” 

Blue eyes looked into maroon ones, as the silence crowded the air. Somehow, this time, Will thought, everything about this question felt more intimate than it had before. As Hannibal replied with the usual “Yes” Will realized it was because, this time, they were both looking at each other as this exchange took place. 

Hannibal broke the gaze and looked out the window. “We should head to bed, it’s getting late” he said and walked past Will, who stood there still as he took a few deep breaths before putting out the fire in the fireplace. Instead of following right after Hannibal, Will went out on the porch. ‘I don’t know why I did that’ ‘Maybe you don’t. Or maybe you do but you’re not ready to admit what you want to yourself yet’. That was true, wasn’t it? Will thought. He knew what he wanted. He wanted to be with Hannibal. He could live with him but not without. He… 

Will wanted to shout as his own thoughts couldn’t even think these words. What was he? A lovesick teenager too afraid of his own desires? Why was it so hard for Will to even think the words in his own head? He knew what they were, he knew they were the truth. But, he also knew. He knew he could never admit it to himself before admitting it to Hannibal. Somehow, he knew that. But, he had no idea when he could tell the other man. 

Will stayed outside for he didn’t know how long, looking up at the moonlight. He wasn’t spending it thinking or anything. He just felt like he couldn’t go back inside and face Hannibal for whatever reason. But, apparently it was not his decision to make when he would next see Hannibal because the man joined him on the porch wearing pajama bottoms and a loose sweater. “Have I made you more confused than you were before? Or something worse?” Hannibal asked as he stood beside him. “I’m not sure what you have done to me” Will admitted “But, it’s something different from what anyone else has ever done” he turned and looked over at Hannibal and, as if on cue, they shared a smile. 

“The moon looks rather beautiful tonight, doesn’t it?” Hannibal spoke after a moment of silence. “It does” Will nodded, thoughts off in another world. “Will” Hannibal said in a serious tone. “I want you to know I never intended to make things more difficult for you. If that is what I have done, I apologize” “You didn’t make things more difficult. I just have to figure this out on my own”. Will sighed, and Hannibal nodded. “I understand” Hannibal said and turned around. He was about to go back inside when Will stopped him by taking his hand. “Stay with me. For a little longer”. 

Hannibal stood beside Will, holding his hand. “Does it help knowing?” Hannibal questioned after a while. “Does it help knowing what?” Will asked, fully aware of what Hannibal was talking about. “About my feelings for you. Does it help with your feelings?” Will sighed, stroking his thumb across Hannibal’s knuckles. “I am not quite sure yet. For someone who can see what another person is feeling without knowing them I have quite a hard time seeing my own feelings clearly sometimes” Will chuckled and Hannibal grinned. “Often the most confusing and unreliable things in our life happen to be ourselves. We continue to surprise ourselves” “Do you often surprise yourself, Hannibal?” Will turned around, still holding Hannibal’s hand, and looked the other man better in the eye. “For a long time, I didn’t. Then you came along. Now, I keep continuing to surprise myself, just as you continue to surprise me” “How do you surprise yourself? After I came along?”. Hannibal looked down for a while, thinking his next words before speaking them. ”I never let my judgment be clouded by my emotions. Now every judgment that has to do with you is more controlled by my heart than my mind” “I haven’t quite reached that stage yet. To many of my thoughts get in a way of my heart” Will realized. “Then you just are going to have wait for that to happen” Hannibal told him with a small grin. Will smiled back, if only he knew when that would happen. 

Before going back inside, Hannibal stepped forward, holding Will’s cheek in his hand, and pressed a light kiss on the outer corner of Will’s lips. He closed his eyes as he turned and grazed his lips lightly across all of Hannibal’s. A quiet gasp escaped Hannibal’s lips, but he didn’t move. They stayed close together, eyes closed, Hannibal’s hand still on Will’s cheek.

Will relished this feeling. Standing this close to Hannibal, foreheads touching, hands holding each other. They would have stayed there much longer if a gust of wind hadn’t blown past and Will gotten cold. 

Hannibal smiled when he felt Will shudder. “We better go back inside” Hannibal suggested. Will nodded “Yeah, we should” he agreed, and they walked back inside, still hand in hand.

 

A few days later, Will woke up later than usual. There had been a harsh storm going on the night before and he hadn’t been able to fall asleep. However, Hannibal had, so Will had simply lain there beside him, watching him sleep. 

Will found it oddly soothing, seeing Hannibal, a known killer and cannibal, lie beside him, fast asleep. At his most vulnerable.

In the morning when Will woke up, he was the only one there. He got dressed and walked to the living room, no one was there. He headed towards the kitchen, no one there. He went back to the living room and looked through the window. Hannibal sat on a chair on the porch outside, sketching the view in front of him. Even though it had been stormy last night, it was sunny that morning. The light peeked through the top of the trees around them and shone in Will’s eyes as he walked outside. 

“Morning, Will” Hannibal said, without looking up from the drawing. “Morning” Will stood behind Hannibal and laid his hand on his shoulder. Hannibal laid down the charcoal and rested his palm over Will’s fingers. “Did you sleep well?” Hannibal asked. “Not so much. Couldn’t fall asleep for hours” he admitted. “You could have woken me up. If you wanted company” Hannibal looked up at Will, the sun getting in his eyes, making him squint. Will smiled at the adorable sight. “Thank you, but I didn’t want to wake you. You looked so peaceful” Hannibal smiled back, before going back to his drawing. 

Will watched the man work for a while. “Haven’t you done this exact view before?” he wondered. “Yes, however the lighting was different then” Hannibal explained and kept shading. 

Will started thinking. Hannibal was always drawing something. Mostly landscapes, but sometimes people, or people as some otherworldly beings. “Have you ever done a self-portrait?” he asked. Hannibal stopped drawing and looked up from the drawing. “I have done a few, although not in a while” he went back to shading. “Will you do one for me?” Hannibal, once again, stopped and turned around in his seat “Why do you want one?”. Will shrugged “I don’t know. I feel like through your drawings I get to see things the way you see them. I want to know how you see yourself” he explained, and Hannibal looked away, nodding his head in thought. “Alright. I’ll do it tonight” he looked back up at Will. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to” “No, I think it would good practice” he smiled before marking the date on the corner of his now finished piece. 

Hannibal stood up and, after giving Will a kiss on the corner of his lips, went inside. He left the door open, but Will stayed outside. He stood with his back facing the house. He slowly raised his hand and touched the spot where Hannibal had kissed him. Absentmindedly, he began biting his fingernails. It had been almost two months since they had killed Dolarhyde. Two months in hiding. They hadn’t been able to do much since both of them were still healing. But, it was very likely they would move over to another place once they got better. Will dreaded that day. Or, at least, wasn’t looking forward to it. He didn’t want to leave this place. It was beautiful, quiet and not many people around, or any at all for that matter. They were completely alone. But Will knew Hannibal would take him to someplace else soon. Most likely a city, a big one. Where they would find an old friend to have for dinner. Maybe they’d go to Florence, Hannibal had, desperately, wanted to show him that city for a long time now.

However, Will wasn’t really that interested in going someplace with a lot of people. Mainly because he had never been a fan of socializing, but also because he knew he wouldn’t be the only company Hannibal would have. In the last two months he had gotten so used to the two of them being alone together. He didn’t want that to change. He knew he was being selfish, thinking that. But, he didn’t really care. He wanted Hannibal to himself. 

That evening Hannibal kept his promise and did the portrait. After dinner, while Will took care of the dishes, he sat down in an office like room that hadn’t been used since they got there, with a mirror and began drawing himself. The mirror was only used to make sure he got his face shape right, but then it was laid on the table as he worked on the details. Will was not allowed to look at the drawing until it was finished. However, on an occasion he would walk past the door and look at Hannibal, who sat there in deep concentration. 

As he stood there in the doorway, his thoughts, as so often before, started wandering. Hannibal and Will shared a bed, often slept wrapped around each other. They held hands across the table as they ate, they had begun giving each other soft kisses on the corner of the lips. Will’s heart was currently beating so loudly in his chest he wondered if Hannibal could hear it. And yet, there seemed to be this denial in him still. He knew he had feelings for Hannibal, the same that Hannibal had for him, but it was like he still couldn’t admit it. Well, he had actually somewhat admitted to himself, but towards the other man? He didn’t know what was stopping him. 

When Will managed to tear his mind away from these thoughts, he noticed Hannibal seemed to only be staring at the drawing, not actually drawing it. “Is there something wrong with it?” Will asked after a while of Hannibal sitting completely still. “No, not to my eyes at least. I was simply wondering whether it needed something else or not” “And does it?” Will stepped into the room. Hannibal shook his head. “I don’t think it is exactly the way I wanted it, but I think I’m done nonetheless. You may look at it” he held it up and Will took it. 

Will practically froze when he looked at it. Somehow it looked so simple, and yet it was exquisite. The more he looked at it, the more detail he saw. Unlike all the other drawings Hannibal had drawn, with people looking like gods and goddesses, Hannibal made himself look incredibly human. His eyes seemed to be staring right through him and, if Will looked closely enough, he saw tears on the brim of falling. The hair looked somewhat disheveled yet combed neatly back. He looked calm, and yet powerful. Everything was in its rightful place and yet something seemed out of it. It was beautiful. 

“What do you think of it?” Hannibal asked after a while. “Its…” Will had a hard time finding a word that really fit, but Hannibal seemed to see that Will had nothing negative to say about it. “I’m glad you like it” Hannibal put away his pencils and charcoal. “I don’t just like it” Will said. “There’s something about it. I don’t know what it is. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever done. Of what I’ve seen at least” Will half whispered and Hannibal nodded, a small smile on his lips. Will laid the drawing down on the desk and looked at Hannibal, who still sat in his chair. “I don’t know better words to describe it” he admitted. Hannibal’s smile widened, and he nodded. Will found himself smiling as well. 

Hannibal stood up, after a moment of silence and walked the few steps it took him to stand in front of Will. A curl fell in front of Will’s eye and Hannibal stroked it away. Will closed his eyes and sighed at the touch. “Will, I’ve been meaning to ask you something, and I feel like now is the right time. May I ask you?” Will opened his eyes as his heartbeat began raising again. He knew exactly what it was Hannibal was going to ask him. He took a deep breath to try to calm himself, it didn’t really work. But, he knew he could say no. He didn’t have to answer the question or hear it. If he denied, Hannibal would not ask, and this conversation would be over. 

“Yes” Will replied with a whisper. “Are you in love with me?” Hannibal asked. The way he looked reminded Will of the drawing. Hannibal looked calm and yet Will could sense the anticipation in his voice. 

Will raised his hand and touched Hannibal’s cheek with his fingers. The other man silently gasped. Will took a step closer, Hannibal mirroring him, neither looking away from the other as Hannibal rested his palm on Will’s hip. Will inhaled deeply and whispered, like it was a secret, and maybe it was “Yes”. 

He smiled. He felt like a massive weight had been lifted off his chest. Like a cage covering his heart was now broken, the walls were down. Hannibal smiled brightly, and it was the most beautiful sight Will had ever seen. “I love you, Hannibal” Will said out loud before closing the gap between them with a kiss. Hannibal’s fingers clutched at his hair as Will wrapped his arms around Hannibal as tightly as he could. He had been so scared of this moment, he realized. He had been scared of what would happen to him if he admitted out loud the way he felt for the other man. And now that he had, he felt relieved. 

Right there, in Hannibal’s arms, heart to heart, Will felt the most honest, clean and happiest he had ever been, something he knew wasn’t going away anytime soon. He wasn’t sure what to call this, but he knew it was wonderful.

**Author's Note:**

> I am working on more Hannigram, a little something that might turn out to be a second chapter of this. I might maybe upload multiple chapters to this fic, however they could all be read as oneshots probably. 
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


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